In 1770, the year the Austrian archduchess Marie-Antoinette (1755 – 1793) married Louis-Auguste, the dauphin of France, she received among her wedding presents a jewel coffer on stand mounted with porcelain plaques. That piece (Château de Versailles) appears to have been the prototype for the eight other examples of this model known today, three of which are in the Museum’s collection. (footnote 1) Made by or attributed to Martin Carlin, these coffers were marketed by Simon-Philippe Poirier, who himself may have invented their design, or by his partner and successor, Dominique Daguerre. All of them have a drawer in the stand fitted with a velvet-lined surface and a compartment for writing implements, so they must have doubled as a small desk. Although most of the plaques on the present example display floral decoration, the oval plaque on the lid and the shaped and undulating one on the front of the coffer show love symbols. Since most of the plaques are marked with the date letter R for the year 1770, it may be assumed that this piece of furniture was made then. Poirier delivered a coffer of French porcelain on a green ground with floral cartouches, richly embellished with gilt bronze, and its stand, to Madame du Barry on December 13, 1770. Since the casket is not listed in any of the inventories of her belongings, it is possible that she ordered it as a sumptuous present for someone else. Coffers of this description were in the possession of Marie-Joséphine-Louise of Savoy, comtesse de Provence (1753 – 1810), and of Empress Maria Feodorovna (1759 – 1828) at Pavlovsk.